We heard about the people who used to live on the land that was taken for the Smokey Mountains National Park: "Their hearts were broken and most of them left crying."

But before all of the land had been taken for the National Parks, the depression came and promises made to fund the parks were left unfunded.

Then came FDR, who allocated federal money to purchase park land. "The first time the federal government spent its own money to buy land for national parks."

PBS' website described the program:

The National Parks: America's Best Idea is the story of an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical: that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone.

Except for those whose hearts were broken and left their homes crying. And the taxpayers who pay for the land but will never visit it.

Don't get me wrong, the national parks are truly amazing places and it's good to preserve them. What I find hypocritical is the position that some take that capitalism is destroying us even though it has enabled individual philanthropy that benefits many people; and that forcing people from their homes for the public good, although our forefathers might agree is "radical," might not agree that it is "uniquely American."

September 18, 2009

We need freedom. Without it, we suffer. How else can you explain why people are willing to risk their lives for freedom?

Unbelievably, the resistance persists in Iran, despite the iron fist of the government. From twitter:

Nobody I know really has anything approaching confidence in the size of the demonstrations, but we will know very soon. Estimates range as high as 3 million in Tehran. The Mousavi/Karroubi people are of course hoping for a very big turnout, and they have taken measures (within their limited capacity) to protect their supporters against armed attack. Everyone expects considerable violence from the regime.

It’s significant that top regime leaders, such as the Kurdish representative on the Assembly of Experts, are being gunned down. This is obviously in response to the wave of arrests of family members of the opposition leaders. Mrs. Mousavi’s brother, for example, has been in Evin Prison in Tehran for three months, and subjected to harsh torture.

September 01, 2009

The commercials display the pretty picture of "harmony between man, nature and machine," complete with a snappy little tune and cute kids.

Watching the video ("The Making of Harmony") where the commercial's creators congratulate themselves on their "epic" achievement, it's clear they have no clue that these commercials dehumanize people. While these artistic folk give lip service to "human energy" and "humanity," their human actors portray docile slaves, dressed up as grass, flowers and clouds, swaying in the breeze created by a hybrid car.

It's a vision no doubt cherished by those who seek to have throngs of unquestioning people buy their sales pitch. It's a picture of the alternate reality that liberals believe actually can exist, if only everyone altered their behavior in the right ways.

It's a picture of an alternate reality where humans don't go to town halls and criticize their representatives, an alternate reality where nobody says anything bad about president Obama. They call it "harmony."